Green Cleaning

Jessica Alba- movie star and founder of The Honest Company

Many women are concerned if cleaning while pregnant is safe. But what about cleaning after your kids are born? Many cleaning products are marketed as “green” and “eco-friendly,” but what about kid friendly?

Jessica Alba, a celebrity and mom, had trouble finding green cleaning products that were safe, breaking out into a skin rash after using a supposedly baby safe laundry detergent.

“Not only that, I was sneezing my head off,” she told the NY Daily News. “I was like, how is this laundry detergent safe for babies?”

“Being a mom is the most profound experience I’ve ever had,” she says. The Honest Company provides baby safe products to parents, such as diapers and cleaning supplies. Sold in convenient packages called “bundles” – they even offer free trials!

What do you recycle? Answer on Facebook to win recycled toilet paper! Celebrate America Recycles Day with a $5 OFF coupon for CleaningProductsWorld.com. Use Coupon code: recycle. Expires 11/22/11.

We had 5 customers sample the Marcal Pro recycled toilet paper, and here are the results!

We sent customers a sample package of toilet paper to try for a week. Some already use environmentally friendly, and were happy to try a toilet paper made from recycled paper.

“We try to use recycled paper towels for all our bathrooms and kitchen area,” said Anna Fusco from MA Engineers.

Many customers like the Marcal Pro recycled toilet paper because the rolls of toilet paper are individually wrapped, great for sanitary storage.

Marcal Toilet Paper is made from recycled materials, such as magazines and junk mail. By using recycled paper, no trees are cut down.

More Benefits of Marcal Bath Tissue:

• Hypoallergenic, won’t irritate skin
• Contains no chlorine bleach
• No added dyes
• No added fragrances

Thanks to all the customers who participated in the survey! If you are interested in switching to Marcal Pro, but would like to test it out first, please e-mail me at molly@cicgo.com for a sample.

Try vodka for cleaning mold and mildew

One of our readers contributed the following link the 24 DIY Cleaning Remedies. Thanks for the great cleaning tips! All of these DIY cleaning tips will help keep households clean. Some of my favorites are listed below, using vinegar and vodka!

11. Use vodka to clean mold and mildew. Although it might be a waste of good vodka, it sure is better than using a stinky chemical! I have allergies to mold as it is, so I prefer a natural remedy that won’t leave me gasping for air, like bleach does. Dilute vodka with water in a spray bottle and spritz in bathroom tiles and anyplace that mold has formed. Add a little vodka to some mop water to clean moldy floors.

18. Spray away the ants with vinegar. Getting rid of ants is a new problem for me, I just spent a good part of my weeknights chasing them down and cleaning the floors to try to deter ants. We ended up getting ant traps that did the trick. Using vinegar is a cheap way to prevent ants from parading through your home. Most people have vinegar on hand, so you don’t have to run out to the store to get any.

In a recent survey of adults in the U.S., it was found that 84 percent of those surveyed prefer to do business with a company that uses green cleaning products and practices. The telephone poll was commissioned by Cintas Corporation and conducted by Harris Interactive® in March 2011 among more than 1,000 adults ages 18 and older.

“Today’s consumers are environmentally-conscious and expect the businesses they patronize to use green cleaning practices,” said Mike Thompson, Senior Vice President, Cintas Facility Services. “This research affirms that using environmentally-friendly cleaning products and practices has a positive impact on the environment and can help drive repeat business.”

Has your business switched to green cleaning practices? Here are some of the articles from our 30 Days of Green to help you get started:

Green Cleaning Terms & Definitions

Green Cleaning Benefits

Evolution of Green Cleaning

The end of our 30 Days of Green is here! Celebrate Earth Day with coupon code GOINGGREEN and save 10% off. Order cleaning products and supplies for your business or home today. Offer ends soon, expires April 24.

Let’s face it: green cleaning can be confusing. From acronyms to certified products, interpreting what environmentally green cleaning terms actually mean can be a challenge. Buying cleaning supplies is easy with this Green Cleaning Glossary to help you understand even the most unclear green cleaning terms.

LEED: Stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is a certification program for green buildings. The LEED program has four levels: certified, silver, gold, and platinum, and aims toward encouraging architects, builders, and maintenance personnel to design, construct, and maintain buildings in a way that is energy efficient as well as environmentally friendly. A variety of products, such as green toilet paper, can help a building qualify for LEED points and lead toward a certification as a green building.

A flushable bathroom cleaner

Biodegradable: A biodegradable product is one that will decompose naturally when exposed to the elements. Biodegradable products are environmentally friendly, and include items such as Scrubbing Bubbles Flushable Bathroom Cleaner Wipes.

Carcinogen: A carcinogen is any chemical that is known to cause cancer. Green cleaning products are known to contain fewer carcinogens and thus are healthier than nongreen products.

HEPA: Stands for High-Efficiency Particulates Air filters. HEPA filters are a common green cleaning feature on vacuums, and help reduce the number of particulates that pass through the filter, thus improving the overall air quality. HEPA vacuums such as the Saniataire Model SC5845 Bagless can be purchased at CleaningProductsWorld.

Post-Consumer Products: This term refers to products that have been discarded by a consumer and subsequently recycled into a new product. Post-Consumer Products include Sunrise Paper Towels and Green Heritage Jumbo Roll Tissue.

VOC: Stands for Volatile Organic Compounds and are given off by a variety of cleaning products including degreasers, disinfectants, and pesticides. VOCs can cause a multitude of health risks; however, many green cleaning products contain low VOCs.

FSC Certified: FCS stands for Forest Stewardship Council, an organization that ensures that all products with its certification are made from trees in FCS certified forests, controlled sources, or are recycled from post-consumer waste. Products carrying an FCS certification include Kleenex Hand Towels.

Let us know if there are any other terms you need defined!

Go Green in your Laundry Room!

Using a green laundry detergent such as Seventh Generation Liquid laundry detergent combined with the reducing water and energy usage make doing laundry a more environmentally friendly process. Many times a green laundry detergent will be better for sensitive skin because no artificial dyes or brighteners are used. Try these tips for a greener laundry day that will be better for the environment and your wallet!

Use cold water- 90% of the energy used in laundry cycles goes toward heating the water. The Department of Energy approximates that if every household switched to using cold water to wash their clothes, 34 million tons of carbon emissions would be eliminated. Simply switching from the hot water cycle to the warm cycle can reduce your energy usage by half.

Dry your clothes outside – Drying your laundry outside when the weather is nice rather than using the dryer can save you about $75 a year on energy bills. This cuts energy costs as well, and will leave your clothes smelling fresh and airy.

Wear your clothes more than once– There is nothing wrong with wearing a pair of jeans more than once. Other items such as pajamas, sweatshirts, and sweaters can be worn several times before a washing is needed. Not only will the clothing last longer from less washing, you will have less laundry to do overall, saving water, energy, and time!

Use a front-loading washing machine – Front-loading washing machines use 7,000 gallons less each year than their top-loading counterparts without compromising clothing cleanliness. When you can get your clothes just as clean and help save water and energy, switching to a top-loading washer is a no-brainer!

Fill it up! – Every time you do a load of laundry, ensure you fill it completely with clothing. For example, don’t just wash the socks; wait until you have a full load of whites to run the washer. Washing machines will use the same amount of energy regardless of load size.

The benefits of green cleaning have long been discussed in janitorial supply company circles, among cleaners, and even among moms. It is not new knowledge that using green cleaning products expose those who use them and those who use the areas being cleaned to fewer chemicals. This is probably the most well-known fact in support of green cleaning, besides the obvious environmental benefits. We’ve compiled a list of some of the other benefits of green cleaning in both public buildings and the home.

Public Buildings

Research has shown that buildings that switch to green cleaning products have:

• Healthier employees – when exposed to less chemicals employees are less likely to become sick.
• Lower operating costs
• More access to government monetary motivation plans, such as the EPA Energy Star program and earning points toward becoming LEED certified.

Homes

• Less family sickness – no one will have allergic reactions to detergents, and no one will be exposed to carcinogens, making green products ideal for use around children and the elderly.
• Lower chance of encountering other living things – some toxic cleaning chemicals do not kill bugs and rodents, rather, they cause disease and mutations among living ones – not something you want living in your home.
• Longer lasting home – green cleaning products won’t eat away at your wood furniture, damage your chrome fixtures, or fade your upholstery like the chemicals in non green cleaning products will. A key tip is to always use products that are biodegradable.

Switch to green cleaning products today!

 There are many ways to reduce the energy usage in your home, putting less strain on the environment and in the long-run saving you money at the same time.  It is understandable that not everyone has the time or money to make drastic updates like placing solar panels on their roof, or replace all of their windows with energy saving windows.  However, there are cheaper alternatives to making your household green.  Below are 5 practical ways to help you cut your energy usage in the home.

 Check Your Insulation – All insulation is rated by an R-value, or how well it can trap heat.  The average recommended R value for insulation in North America is 12.   If yours is lower, upgrading could dramatically reduce your heating and cooling costs.

 Plant a Tree – Properly sited trees planted around the house can reduce your cooling and heating costs by up to 30 percent!  Also, they may increase your property value as an extra bonus.

 Use Low Flow Toilets and Showerheads – Older showerheads are likely pumping out more water than you need, today’s standard showerhead uses 2.5 gallons a minute or less and would help cut your water bill.  Additionally, new standard low-flow toilets use 1.6 gallons per flush or less compared to much higher amounts in older toilets.

 Recycle Paper and Used Recycled Paper Products – Recycled paper uses far less resources than non-recycled paper.  One ton of recycled paper uses 17 fewer trees than non-recycled paper, and recycled paper products require less energy consuming to produce.  In comparison to producing non-recycled paper, every ton of recycled paper produced saves enough energy to power a 3 bedroom house for a year!

 Bank Online and Pay Bills Online – The amount of paper saved if every home in the U.S. paid its bills online would reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by a staggering 2.1 tons.

 A person doesn’t need to spend thousands of dollars to reduce their own energy costs and consumption – do you have tips for going green in the home?  Share them in the comments section!